


Underground

by potentiality_26



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Not Trailer Compliant, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-12 22:05:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11171004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potentiality_26/pseuds/potentiality_26
Summary: He had seen all that was left of Eggsy's first suit, and all the suits Eggsy had ordered since then.  Whether by Eggsy's choice or the tailors' design, all were markedly similar to Harry's.  There was no denying that Eggsy looked good in them, of course- he would look good whatever he wore, as that garish outfit he had chosen for the NLP exercise could well attest.  But...But from the first time Harry had seen Eggsy so dressed, he had thought about making him a suit.  One more modern than any of his own, brighter, with a cut better suited to Eggsy’s very different shape.  Harry hoped that if nothing else it would be tacit permission- permission that Eggsy didn’t need but might still want- to be a different kind of Galahad.  That was, after all, exactly why Harry had chosen him.  Not to be Galahad, no- though in many ways the title suited him better than it ever had Harry- but to bedifferent.Of tokens and armor.





	Underground

**Author's Note:**

> A little something to celebrate those bygone days when I thought K2 was coming out around now. Title inspired by "Safe and Sound" by Capital Cities, although I can't really say it's from there when it's just the one word. 
> 
> Not Brit-picked.

“Heya, Harry,” Eggsy said as he poked his head through the door.  “Merlin said I might find you down here.  What're you doing?"

Harry, still bent over the suit he was working on, smiled but lifted an eyebrow.  “What does it look like?”

Eggsy laughed, stepping closer.  “He told me you did tailoring for the shop sometimes.”  His gaze followed Harry’s hands with interest and- unless Harry missed his guess- a little trepidation.  “I’m not gonna have to learn to do that, am I?”

Harry gave a laugh of his own and shook his head.  “No, Eggsy.  You will certainly have to do some time in the shop, but Kingsman won’t _make_ you learn this particular trade.  I simply like it.  I find the work relaxing; I always have.”  Harry liked the beauty and simplicity of well made suit, and he liked being the one to make it almost as much as being the one to wear it.

“It's nice,” Eggsy said, his fingertips trailing hesitantly along the fabric as he came to a stop next to Harry’s table.

It was possible that Harry was imagining the note of wistfulness in Eggsy’s voice, but he doubted it.  “It’s for you,” he said, and watched Eggsy go still.  “It was meant to be a surprise.”

Harry let the faintest touch of reproof creep into his voice, though he meant it for Merlin more than Eggsy.  After all, Merlin knew what Harry had been up to in the tailor's workshop of late, knew how counter-productive it was to send Eggsy down here like that.

Not that Harry wasn’t happy to see him.  He was always happy to see Eggsy.

Harry decided that it didn't matter if Eggsy knew about the suit beforehand.  In truth, he was making it as much for himself as for Eggsy.

He had seen all that was left of Eggsy's first suit, and all the suits Eggsy had ordered since then. Whether by Eggsy's choice or the tailors' design, all were markedly similar to Harry's. There was no denying that Eggsy looked good in them, of course- he would look good whatever he wore, as that garish outfit he had chosen for the NLP exercise could well attest.  But...

But from the first time Harry had seen Eggsy so dressed, he had thought about making him a suit. One more modern than any of his own, brighter, with a cut better suited to Eggsy’s very different shape. Harry hoped that if nothing else it would be tacit permission- permission that Eggsy didn’t need but might still want- to be a different kind of Galahad. That was, after all, exactly why Harry had chosen him. Not to be Galahad, no- though in many ways the title suited him better than it ever had Harry- but to be _different_.     

So he was making it for Eggsy, of course he was- but he also liked doing little things for Eggsy, liked making life easier for him in whatever small way he could.  Harry was keenly aware that it was primarily luck that had allowed him to be here at all.  If Valentine's bullet hadn’t only grazed him, if it hadn’t hit him at all and never resulted in the shower of blood that concealed how minor the wound actually was, if Valentine hadn’t been too squeamish and Gazelle too uncaring to check his body.  If, if, if.  Harry intended to make the most of his second chance, and covering Eggsy in a suit he had made himself seemed like an excellent start. 

Harry thought of the suits as a Kingsman's armor for so many reasons.  Because they were bulletproof, yes- but also because of the effect a well-tailored suit had on a man.  It concealed his rough edges, certainly, made anyone look like a gentleman- but it covered the softer ones too, shored up any weaknesses or at least made them harder to see.  And of course Harry enjoyed the metaphor.  He, more than anyone else in the organization, liked to think of them as knights.  And- as everyone knew- a knight needed a token.  It certainly wouldn’t hurt if Eggsy looked gorgeous in his.  

“Surprise, huh,” Eggsy said, jolting Harry from these fanciful thoughts.  His teeth plucked fetchingly as his lower lip.  “Like all the stuff you sent over for my sister?"

Harry watched Eggsy quietly for a moment.  “I wasn’t sure you knew that was me.”  He had instructed that the delivery be anonymous.

Eggsy ducked his head.  Harry could see from the flush creeping across his cheeks and the wideness of his eyes that he hadn’t known, not for sure- but that he was pleased by the confirmation.  “Dunno who else it would’ve been.” 

He was pleased, yes, but also embarrassed- and an embarrassed Eggsy was a distracted one.  It gave Harry another moment he might not have otherwise had to just look at him.  He could never tell if that expression Eggsy wore sometimes- hesitant, flattered, shy- was only because he appreciated these simple signs of Harry's regard, or if he, too, sometimes hoped for more.  Most of the time, it didn’t really matter to Harry if Eggsy wanted him.  He was too old and he had had too little love in his life to disvalue whatever came his way, and Eggsy did love him.  There had been no looking at him when he found out Harry was alive, no holding him- as Harry had held him, for what felt like hours, once the doctors permitted him to do so- and still doubting that Eggsy loved him.  But some of the time Harry looked at the brightness of Eggsy’s eyes and the sweetness of his smile, and thought about all the twists of fate and sheer blind luck that had brought them together like this, and wondered how they could be so similar- despite the gaps in age and life experiences between them- without sharing _this_. 

Eggsy proved Harry right about their similarities, at least, when he stepped closer and said, "I’d like it.  To carry something you made with me.  On me."

His flush deepened, suggesting that he either hadn’t realized how... intimate that would sound until it came out, or he had realized and hadn’t planned to say it aloud at all.  Harry kept quiet for a moment, letting Eggsy make up his mind.  He didn’t say anything more, but he didn’t take it back, either.  Finally, Harry said, “Well, since you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful.”

“You want my help?”

Harry nodded. 

Eggsy’s smile came slow but sure.  “I’d like to, Harry- but I can’t stay right now.  I’m going to Hong Kong, remember?  I was just looking for you to say goodbye.”

It had slipped Harry's mind, though he had cleared Eggsy for the mission himself.  Eggsy had made a habit of coming to see Harry before he went out in the field- a good habit for any Kingsman to get into, but one Eggsy took particularly seriously because of Kentucky- and this time Eggsy would most likely be gone for several weeks.  “I’ll probably be finished with this before you get back.”

Eggsy bit his lip, looking excited and disappointed at once. 

"I could certainly call on you for the next one," Harry said.  "I like working with you.”  Merlin had probably mentioned to Eggsy that Harry preferred to be alone while he was tailoring, but for Eggsy Harry would make an exception.  Always. 

Eggsy grinned.  He was still flushed, but now he looked a little sly too.  "What's gonna tide me over until then?" he asked. 

Harry found himself thinking about knights and tokens again.  "What would you like?  Anything I have is yours."

There was something intense in Eggsy's eyes just then, something Harry had seen a lot of recently- as if he still didn't know just what to make of all that faith and support.  Harry had been giving him a fairly steady diet of both of late; he didn't think it was possible to give him too much.  "I can think of something," Eggsy said at last.  "And if... uh... if it's not on the table we'll chalk it up to pre-mission insanity, okay?” 

"Okay," Harry said. 

Eggsy got up on his toes and Harry realized for the first time just how close he was.  Eggsy lingered, all but nose-to-nose with Harry, for fraction of a second before he leaned in and kissed Harry.  It was chaste, for the most part- just a warm huff of breath and a soft brush of lips- but it was enough.  It was more than enough. 

Harry’s fingers curled into fists around the fabric at Eggsy’s shoulders, keeping him near.  “I don’t think there’s really such a thing as pre-mission insanity.”

Eggsy’s tongue flickered out over his lips.  “No?”

Harry released Eggsy’s shoulders only to take Eggsy’s face in both hands.  “No.”  He drew him into another kiss, this one much deeper.  Eggsy seemed happy enough to give Harry the lead in this, and Harry was happy enough to take it.  Eggsy tasted so good, and he melted so completely when Harry brought all of his not-inconsiderable experience to bear.  Eggsy moaned softly and lost his balance a little, slumping back against the table as Harry pressed up against him, and Harry nipped a little at his lips before he released them.  "Will that do?"

"Yeah," Eggsy said, a little breathlessly.  "And here I was gonna ask you to wish me luck.  Don't really need it now."

Harry felt his lips curl upward as his own thoughts about luck came back to the fore.  "I should think not," he murmured, because Eggsy really didn't need it.  He was good, better than Harry- and once he let himself believe it he’d be unstoppable.  

“Bye, then.”  Eggsy's hands slid up Harry’s chest as they kissed again.  “Merlin won't like it if I’m late, but... see you soon, yeah?”

“Of course,” Harry agreed, smile widening.  He was still smiling after Eggsy left- several kisses later- and a few minutes after that when he realized that Eggsy had stolen his pocket square.  

Well.  He had his token for now, didn't he?  Harry got back to work on a better one.

**Author's Note:**

> Come see me on [tumblr](http://potentiality-26.tumblr.com/).


End file.
